Candy corn colours

Svenja has set the challenge for us at Daring Cardmakers this week - she's giving us sweet inspiration with either candy corn or peppermint fondant, extra virtual browine points if your card relates to sweets.

I didn't manage the confectionary theme, I just opted for candy corn colours of orange, yellow and white.

An acrylic block with curvy sides provided the "stamp" for my colour block base - I tapped the ink pads onto it, spritzed with water and pressed it onto the card base. I did give it a little help with a damp brush as the coverage was just a bit too hit and miss.

I stamped the sentiment then stamped the flower to grow out of it. I stamped again on a scrap of white and cut out the flower head, gave it a bit of shading with a couple of grey pencils and stuck it over the top. A tiny bit of detail stamped with yellow ink at the bottom of the card and call it done.

Stamps:
Creative Chaos (Visible Image)
Birthday (Letter It range by Ranger)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mustard Seed)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide by Ranger (Carved Pumpkin)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Grey pencils

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Link in the chain - September (and August!)

It’s reveal day at Card Chain Challenge. Mine travelled around the globe to Suze in New Zealand this time and I chose the colour palette and the theme of flowers from the options on offer.

The first hollyhock stem was stamped and masked before stamping a second behind it. I coloured the flowers with Copics and then added some extra shading and detail with coloured pencils. It was one of those cards that doesn’t like having its photo taken, I did my best!

Stamps:
Jumbo hollyhocks (Stampendous)
Landscape quotes (HobbyCraft)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Spun Sugar)
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Coloured pencils
Corner Chomper

I realised I forgot to blog August’s card which went to the lovely Jo. From the options on offer I chose the theme of the sea, the colour pallet and the technique of stamping (it’s almost guaranteed I’m going to hit that any time it’s one of the options, it’s rare indeed for me to make a card with no stamping!). 

Stamps:
Create Your Own Calm (Visible Image)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Spun Sugar, Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Copic markers
Fibres stencil (Visible Image)
Stickles
Silver gel pen
Corner Chomper 

Wild hare day

Nat is setting the challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see animal prints or wild animals. I suspect she was thinking lions and tigers (oh, my!) but I've gone a bit closer to home. I've never seen a domesticated hare so it must be a wild animal, right?

This lino cut style hare is actually sold as a Christmas stamp (it has a festive sentiment along with it) but I figure it's really a year-round image, just switch out the sentiment.

I stamped in black on the card base then again in chocolate brown, cut out the hare and raised him just a bit on some gel glue. Some dots with a couple of Copic markers to fill in some sky and a stamped sentiment and call it done.

Stamps:
Start Gazer (Woodware)
Sentiment from Big Day today (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black, Pearlescent Chocolate)

Othe:
Copic markers
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Got your number

The current challenge at Let’s Squash It wants us to use an embossing folder featuring numbers or letters and then sand the embossed surface. 

I went back to an offcut of the heavyweight disposable aluminium platter I used for the last challenge, embossed a square of it in the part of the folder that has numbers (and the Roman numerals on the clock face, too) then painted it with gesso.  Once it was dry, I added drops of alcohol ink in various greens and blues and spread them into all the nooks and crannies. More drying time and then bring out the sanding block to expose the silver metal of the high spots. 

I did a bit of stamping on the card base, messed up the sentiment and so added a separate strip to cover the booboo. Finished with some Enamel Accents dots and I have a masculine birthday card to add to the stash.

Stamps:
Numbers border (Kaisercraft)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Aluminium platter
Patchwork embossing folder (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Gesso
Alcohol inks
Black Enamel Accents by Ranger
Black fineliner
Corner Chomper 

Thanks for stopping by!

Circles and words

Jenny is setting the challenge for us today at Daring Cardmakers and she’d like to see circles featuring as a design element. I wanted to use this Bubble Border stamp as it has loads of circles and so decided to combine with the latest challenge at Lost Coast Designs which wants us to use sentiments of at least five words. 

It really is a champagne celebration - this border stamp has been in my stash for 10 years this month! It’s seen a fair bit of use in that time so I reckon it was money very well spent as I don't think it has dated at all (and looking on the Lost Coast shop now I see it’s still only $4!). I heat embossed with gold powder and then used several shades of gold watercolour paint to fill in the circles. I used a couple of pen caps as stamps to add bubbles breaking out from the central column and finished with some sequins and the simply matted sentiment panel. 

Stamps:
Bubble border (Lost Coast Designs)
Putting on the Ritz (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko
Delicata by Tsukineko (Golden Glitz)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Gold detail embossing powder
Gansai Tambi Starry Colours
Stitched rectangle dies (Paper Rose)
Sequins
Corner Chomper 

 

Movie mania

The current Lost Coast challenge has us focusing on the wonderful world of the cinema with Movie Mania.

My first idea was to turn the Showgirls stamp into a whole row with a bit of masking (to represent the movie A Chorus Line) but Riet beat me to the same idea and I didn't want to look like a copycat! I went through several other ideas (Gnomeo and Juliet, anyone?) but then another idea for the same stamp popped in to my head. Can you spot the movie reference?

Using some dragonfly wings (and a piece of acetate to reverse them since they pointed the wrong way) I've transformed the girls into Absinthe fairies and given them extra Parisian flavour with a misty Eiffel Tower in the background. There's some fairy sparkle on wings and costume accents, courtesy of Spica pens.

Stamps:
Showgirls (Lost Coast Designs)
French Mail and Poppies (both Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Shadw ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)

Other:
Copic markers
Flim strip ribbon (Tim Holtz)
Spica glitter pens (green and turquoise)
Glossy Accents (to stick the film ribbon down invisibly)

Got the movie? Get your best Kylie impression out for the Absinthe fairy from Moulin Rouge!

 

Fearless and powerful

I’d been meaning to play along with the current challenge at Lost Coast Designs which is asking us to feature a human face. A couple of projects got started but ended up in the circular file. Then Gail, who facilitated me getting him as part of my recent prize when my name came out of the hat on a Lost Coast challenge, suggested using Frankie. It was an idea I’d already considered but got no further with, but something about her suggestion made this idea emerge and refuse to go away. 

I guess some might argue that Frankenstein’s monster is not human (I’m sure Mary Shelley would approve of the philosophical debate arising from that) but I think it’s easily countered in this case by arguing that it’s Boris Karloff playing Frankenstein’s monster in any case. Of course the English Literature graduate in me balks slightly at the fact the stamp is called “Frankenstein” but others might use the word “pedant”!

Let’s Squash It is currently asking us to emboss something other than paper or card and I decided to combine challenges by putting Frankie on a backdrop made from a thick aluminium tray (the sort you might get to serve food at a big party - remember those? Your local pound shop probably has the trays if you’re in the UK). I dabbed a thin coat of black acrylic paint on there and wiped back over the high spots to bring out the design. As the novel has unease at industrialisation as an underlying theme, I thought this folder would be appropriate. 

The quote is actually from the novel, done with a Dymo label maker. 

ETA - I've corrected an earlier "oops"  where I stuck the words down in the wrong order, changing the meaning entirely. Why don't you see these things until you're looking at a photo of the finished project?! Apologies to Shelley and to the monster (and to you if you saw an image with an incorrect quote!). I'm afraid that means there's now sun glare off one corner but I'm happier to live with that!

Stamps:
Frankenstein (Carmen’s Veranda)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko  (Graphite Black)

Other:
Aluminium tray
Uber embossing folder (Couture Creations)
Black acrylic paint
Copic markers
White paint pen by Posca
Pinflair glue gel
Dymo label maker

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Ten green bottles

Ruth is setting the challenge for us at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see bottles - any sort, any quantity!

I decided to go not only for 10 green bottles but the wall as well! The bottles (eight of them) are all in a row on one stamp but I decided it would be fun to have them a bit more random so I cut them out individually.

The current challenge at Let's Squash It wants us to emboss something other than paper or card to include on our cards so my wall is made of the metal from a tomato paste tube, I painted it with gesso and then wiped back to leave white "mortar" and slightly glamorous bricks! Gel glue is pretty much essential here as the 3D embossing folder leaves such a deeply textured impression you need something that will stick securely despite all the cragginess.

Stamps:
Hot Picks 1109 (Paper Artsy)
Letter It range Birthday (Ranger)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Pitch Black)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Tomato paste tube
Brickwork 3D embossing folder (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Gesso
Copic markers
Pinflair glue gel
Black fineliner

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Very superstitious

Hello, my turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and as it’s Friday the 13th I thought we’d take inspiration from superstitions this time. No need to try to represent the superstition itself (although you could if that's the way the muse takes you!), just pick an element to use on your card (see the blog for more details!).

Spoiled for choice I considered shoes (don't put new shoes on the table), a monkey with a banana (don't take bananas on board a boat) and various others before settling on a very old superstition - apparently women in Ancient Britain often carried an acorn in a pocket in the belief it would keep them looking young. A lot cheaper than all the anti-aging products around these days! 

I chose to make a clean and simple scrapling and to throw the acorns into the spotlight a bit more, I stamped a second image on a scrap of cardstock, cut out just the acorns and used a bit of gel glue for some lift.  

As I chose an older stamp I’m playing along at Retro Rubber too as there’s an anything goes theme for the current challenge. 

My teamies have been knocking on wood, encountering black cats, umbrellas and horseshoes - check out the blog for more superstitious inspiration!

Stamps:
Fall Harvest (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us - set dated 2009)
Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Vintage Sepia)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Copic markers 
Coloured pencils
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by, I hope life is being kind to you.

 

 

 

Link in the chain - July

It's reveal day at Card Chain Challenge. My card went to Janis in Idaho this time.

From the options on offer I chose the themes of summer and snacks (although I do wonder whether three scoops counts as a meal!).

Bright, citrusy colours seemed to go with a summer vibe and I couldn't find a suitable stamp with the word "summer" so I ended up using die cut lettering for that bit. There's Spica glitter pen on various elements for a bit of subtle sparkle. The cone is cut out and popped up with some gel glue.

Stamps:
Layering Ice Cream (Hero Arts)
Birthday (Lettering range by Ranger)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress and Oxides by Ranger (Twisted Citron, Spice Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Tea Dye)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Sunshine Yellow, Sunset Orange, Latte)

Other:
Typewriter font dies (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Brown fineline pen
Spica pen (Gold and Turquoise)
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!